BBC Exceeds Creative Diversity Commitment Target as Original Content Spend Crosses $2 Billion

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran The BBC invested £128.5 million ($165.7 million) into TV and radio content in the first two years of its Creative Diversity Commitment, a year ahead of target.

In doing so, it exceeded the original commitment of £112 million into on-screen and on-air diversity and inclusion. The commitment, which was made in 2020 – £100 million for TV and £12 million for radio – in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, was met last year with scepticism from some U.K.

industry leaders who called it “smoke and mirrors.” That sentiment appears to have been disproved with the BBC saying that it has “broadcast a huge array of TV programs across the year which authentically reflects our audiences, nurturing diverse voices and working with diverse casts and crews,” citing “My Name Is Leon,” “Avoidance,” “Ranger Hamza’s Eco Quest,” “Una Marson: Caribbean Voices,” “The Wedding” and the “Women’s Euros” as examples.

In the second year of the commitment, the BBC invested £61 million in supporting a total of 118 TV programs. This follows a £59 million investment in the first year across 92 programd.